Telling work you are a citizen

[tammiandtom 0]

So my husband went into his work's office to tell them to update their files that he is a citizen now. They want to see either his certificate or passport. They told him a copy is fine for the certificate. i said oh no, you are not giving them a copy, it says right on there no copies allowed. It seems weird to me. Every job I've ever had, you just check that you are a citizen and you don't have to show a passport or birth certificate to prove it. My husband said that his one co-worker (an American by birth) did have to show his passport though. Weird.

[NickD 203]

So my husband went into his work's office to tell them to update their files that he is a citizen now. They want to see either his certificate or passport. They told him a copy is fine for the certificate. i said oh no, you are not giving them a copy, it says right on there no copies allowed. It seems weird to me. Every job I've ever had, you just check that you are a citizen and you don't have to show a passport or birth certificate to prove it. My husband said that his one co-worker (an American by birth) did have to show his passport though. Weird.

Same where my wife's work, took a copy of her ten year card and I don't blame them, the employer is checked and can be severely fined for hiring an undocumented worker. If they want to make a copy of her citizenship certificate for their records, so be it or can suggest they pay the USCIS 400 bucks for a copy.

So why is it legal to copy a green card but not the certificate? This is yet another example where state rules conflict with federal rules, it's their problem, not ours, if they need proof an employee is here legally, they have to have it. Could red stamp it, it's a copy. Already wrote my congressman and senator about this conflict, but didn't get a response as of yet.

Yes, I know you just had to check a box in the past, but that is history, this law in our state became effective the first of this year, including even renewing a driver's license. But if your employee is making the copy, who is breaking the law? And why can you copy your passport, but not your certificate? It's crazy.

[moonhunt 1]

So my husband went into his work's office to tell them to update their files that he is a citizen now. They want to see either his certificate or passport. They told him a copy is fine for the certificate. i said oh no, you are not giving them a copy, it says right on there no copies allowed. It seems weird to me. Every job I've ever had, you just check that you are a citizen and you don't have to show a passport or birth certificate to prove it. My husband said that his one co-worker (an American by birth) did have to show his passport though. Weird.

Actually Employer needs to keep those info for 3 years.

But "Certificate of Naturalization" is removed from required documentation as far as I know.

http://www.uscis.gov/i-9

If your husband update Social Security Admin record, employer could verify it through E-VERIFY system easily.

Or he can wait until he could get US passport, and use it for evidence.

[NickD 203]

So my husband went into his work's office to tell them to update their files that he is a citizen now. They want to see either his certificate or passport. They told him a copy is fine for the certificate. i said oh no, you are not giving them a copy, it says right on there no copies allowed. It seems weird to me. Every job I've ever had, you just check that you are a citizen and you don't have to show a passport or birth certificate to prove it. My husband said that his one co-worker (an American by birth) did have to show his passport though. Weird.

Actually Employer needs to keep those info for 3 years.

But "Certificate of Naturalization" is removed from required documentation as far as I know.

http://www.uscis.gov/i-9

If your husband update Social Security Admin record, employer could verify it through E-VERIFY system easily.

Or he can wait until he could get US passport, and use it for evidence.

Thanks to your posted http://www.uscis.gov/i-9 site, really tells a person what they need to prove their eligibility for work that they need to show their employer. Do show a list of acceptable items, and the citizenship certificate was not on that list.

Found that USC ID card interesting. But:

"(a) General. Form I-197, U.S. Citizen Identification Card, is no

longer issued by the Service but valid existing cards will continue to

be acceptable documentation of U.S. citizenship. Possession of the

identification card is not mandatory for any purpose. A U.S. Citizen

Identification Card remains the property of the United States. Because

the identification card is no longer issued, there are no provisions for

replacement cards."

Seems strange with all this emphasis on ID and eligibility the idiots would drop this card, but that is our government. Just like the EPA getting involved with refrigeration, put all the responsibility for recovery on the repair technician, but are letting the manufacturers of this equipment that also includes air conditioning go scott free. Never in the history of this field has the equipment been made so poorly, ha recover what? When a technician sees it, all that refrigerant has long escaped into the atmosphere.

For a natural born USC, all we have is our birth certificate and see any other means for proof of eligibility or ID have all been based on this piece of paper.

Love that current valid foreign passport with an I-551 stamp as means of proof. Anyway sounds like a USA passport is your best bet, even recommend you make copies of it and send it to friends or relatives in case it gets lost when coming back. Don't try to use logic in their rules, you will go insane.

[lucyrich 20]

For work eligibility, the naturalization certificate is no good. A passport or a combination of a social security card and drivers license would work. There are other possibilities listed on the I-9.

Since it's not good for employment purposes, you don't need to make a copy of it for this purpose, but I'll ramble on a bit on the subject of copies anyway.

At Lucy's naturalization ceremony, the USCIS official said it's OK to make photocopies of the naturalization certificate for business purposes. He explicitly said it's OK to make photocopies if you need to use it as evidence to send to the USCIS, for example if you're filing a petition for a relative.

I can't find the exact section of the law which says it's illegal to make photocopies of a naturalization certificate. The certificate itself says you can't photocopy it "without proper authority", but doesn't say what authority that might be.

Anyway, one of the wonderful things you can get used to about being a citizen is that you now have the protection of the Bill of Rights if you're ever accused of a crime. You can't be deported. If the government wants to penalize you, either via a fine or incarceration, the government will have the burden of proof beyond all reasonable doubt. That means the prosecutor will have to convince 12 jurors beyond all reasonable doubt that you deserve to be convicted. I'm still not sure if it's 100% legal or not, but personally, I wouldn't worry too much about making one accurate photocopy of a naturalization certificate for legitimate purposes, when you have no intent of deceiving anyone, altering the certificate, or committing any sort of fraud. No jury is going to convict you for that.

Aliens have most of the protection of the Bill of Rights, too, in that they can't be convicted and sent to prison without a jury trial. But they can sometimes be deported or found ineligible for immigration benefits without having a prosecutor prove them guilty.